Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Something to Talk About the Stella Podcast.
Speaker 1: I'm Sarah Lamarquin to your host and Stella's editor in chief.
Speaker 1: Every week I sit down with some of the biggest
Speaker 1: names in the country, and today's guest is definitely just that,
Speaker 1: having gone from reality TV show contestant to one of
Speaker 1: the most well known women in Australia. It's been just
Speaker 1: over a year since I last sat down with Abby
Speaker 1: Chatfield and when you look at what's happened in her
Speaker 1: life and career since then, well, to use three words
Speaker 1: all but trademarked by Abby herself, it's a lot. The
Speaker 1: past twelve months have seen her walk away from radio,
Speaker 1: but continue to host her hit podcast, take her one
Speaker 1: woman show on the road with a national tour, and
Speaker 1: film her second season as host of f Boy Island Australia.
Speaker 1: She also continues to generate headlines by using her social
Speaker 1: media platform to speak out about serious political issues, and
Speaker 1: she's very famously found love in the arms of Peaking
Speaker 1: Duck musician Adam Hyde. Like I said, it's a lot,
Speaker 1: and on today's episode is Something to talk About Abby
Speaker 1: and I get into all of it and then some
Speaker 1: Abby Chatfield, Welcome back to Stella and Something to talk about.
Speaker 2: Hi, Sarah, thanks having me back. It's lovely to have
Speaker 2: you back.
Speaker 1: The last time you and I sat down was ahead
Speaker 1: of the launch of f Boy Island Australia and you
Speaker 1: were on the cover of Stella and on Something to
Speaker 1: talk About. It was May of last year. Show was
Speaker 1: just about to launch. It's coming back soon for season two,
Speaker 1: which we'll talk about in a moment. But whole new
Speaker 1: pressure trying to launch an unheard of show in Australia,
Speaker 1: especially when the name alone has everyone clutching. Yes, said Pearls.
Speaker 1: It was a gorgeous cover. It really was, as is
Speaker 1: the one today. And rather than do an Instagram post
Speaker 1: saying you know, glad to be on the cover Stelle
Speaker 1: or here I am or what you know, buckle up
Speaker 1: if Boy Island coming soon, you spoke about how you'd
Speaker 1: really struggle that day shooting the cover. You said that
Speaker 1: you had taken breaks outside between shots to go outside
Speaker 1: to cry. You were very generous about saying I love
Speaker 1: the photos. Team at Stella are some of the best
Speaker 1: in the country. So it wasn't any of that, you know,
Speaker 1: It wasn't any of that, like, oh, you know, I
Speaker 1: hate being in front of the camera.
Speaker 2: I don't look good.
Speaker 1: It wasn't any of that. It was very profound. And
Speaker 1: I know it's always a bit weird when people read
Speaker 1: your words.
Speaker 2: Back to you.
Speaker 1: But you said a lot of you will say have
Speaker 1: a break, as my GP E and T psychologists and
Speaker 1: psychiatrist have all said. But it simply isn't possible. My
Speaker 1: commitments don't allow me a break. My voice right now
Speaker 1: is so painful when I speak that I cry from
Speaker 1: the pain. Sometimes I had three days of vocal rest.
Speaker 1: It didn't help. I'm on the verge of tears all
Speaker 1: the time. If one thing goes wrong, the floodgates open.
Speaker 1: I have so much pressure on me all the time
Speaker 1: to be fun or entertaining or at the very least
Speaker 1: have something of value to say. It's draining physically and mentally.
Speaker 1: I'm not trying to get sympathy, I guess I'm just
Speaker 1: trying to say this is maybe not what you think.
Speaker 1: This industry, I love it, and I love all my jobs.
Speaker 1: This is Sarah interjecting here to say Abby. At the time,
Speaker 1: for some context, of course, you were hosting your podcast
Speaker 1: about to launcheff Boy Island. You were also on radio
Speaker 1: every night at the time with your National Show and twos.
Speaker 2: There was a lot going on.
Speaker 1: Yeah, back to Abby, I love it and I love
Speaker 1: all my jobs, but that's kind of the issue. It's
Speaker 1: addictive and intoxicating and fucking fun until it isn't and
Speaker 1: you are commodifying parts of you and there isn't much
Speaker 1: left just for yourself. About fifteen months later, how does
Speaker 1: it feel reflecting on those words, Well.
Speaker 2: I quit radio, thank god. That's was the biggest issue
Speaker 2: that I was having was radio. For sure. I feel
Speaker 2: like I'm still very burnt out and very exhausted. I
Speaker 2: think that period of time was when just before I
Speaker 2: decided to quit radio, and then it took me a
Speaker 2: few months to actually do it because I had a
Speaker 2: break a bit after that because I kind of said
Speaker 2: that I can't, I can't do this anymore. This is yep,
Speaker 2: this is very It's not conducive to anyone having a
Speaker 2: good outcome, like good content, me being happy, anything, but
Speaker 2: obviously that sentiment still stands, having to be like happy
Speaker 2: and excited and have something interesting to say, and it's
Speaker 2: very exhausting. When I mean you, I'm sure you feel
Speaker 2: the same. When I used to have a nine to five,
Speaker 2: and obviously I love the job that I have now
Speaker 2: so much. When I had nine to five, if I
Speaker 2: had my period or a migrain, or if I had
Speaker 2: a really bad mental health week or a few months,
Speaker 2: I could just sit in front of my computer because
Speaker 2: I did Like I was in red estate commercial real estate,
Speaker 2: I was an analyst, so I could just literally be like,
Speaker 2: no one talk to me, and then just get my
Speaker 2: work done and go through the motions. But with this job,
Speaker 2: as you know, you can't really just go through the
Speaker 2: motions because you have to be like sparkly and exciting,
Speaker 2: and particularly hosting a show or doing a podcast. It's
Speaker 2: from my personal perspectives, there's not a chance to switch
Speaker 2: off so at that time, particularly because with radio, something
Speaker 2: that people don't speak up publicly. I don't think, but
Speaker 2: a lot of radio hosts speak about this is that
Speaker 2: your life gets consumed by radio because every single day,
Speaker 2: like you're hoping that you'll get the wrong scone at
Speaker 2: the cafe so you can do it thirteen ten sixty,
Speaker 2: when if you've got the wrong right, like every single
Speaker 2: part of your life, every bit of media I ingested.
Speaker 2: I'm writing notes for what I can do for radio.
Speaker 2: Every single conversation that I have, I go like writing notes.
Speaker 2: So that was when work was encompassing my entire life,
Speaker 2: my entire being. Since putting radio, I'm much happier, much happier,
Speaker 2: like much. Avia can't believe it, but would say that
Speaker 2: I'm still reeling from the effects of radio. So it's
Speaker 2: getting better for sure, but I still have a bit
Speaker 2: of burnout definitely.
Speaker 1: It is interesting what you say about the radio because
Speaker 1: we have had a couple of people touch upon it
Speaker 1: and Rossiano Bianca, die Amanda Kella recently, all in different things.
Speaker 1: There is that component where you have to mine your life, Jackie, Oh,
Speaker 1: I've spoken about it before, and then it becomes, I imagine, Abby,
Speaker 1: something that you also have to navigate as someone as
Speaker 1: you who's so high profile. Also in the social media landscape,
Speaker 1: where do you turn the off button on? When you
Speaker 1: told us this? Why can't you tell us that? So
Speaker 1: I imagine there's elements of it still that exist just
Speaker 1: through social media.
Speaker 2: One hundred percent. Another thing was also where to designate
Speaker 2: which content went where with the podcast, socials, collabse tour
Speaker 2: and radio thinking you know this thing's happened in my life,
Speaker 2: how do we speak about it? And which platform is
Speaker 2: the best? So every part of your life becomes commodified,
Speaker 2: but also becomes analyzed in a way of Okay, well
Speaker 2: this is long form stories. It a short form story.
Speaker 2: So it's really it's a strange thing to do and
Speaker 2: you don't realize that you're doing it until it's been
Speaker 2: six months or a year and you sat your bit
Speaker 2: a bit bonkers with it. But yeah, it's really exhausting
Speaker 2: and it's hard for me. Like recently, I've obviously hard
Speaker 2: launched my new relationship with Adam from Peaking Doug. I
Speaker 2: posted about it on TikTok a lot books. People were
Speaker 2: asking about whether they're like a version was inspired by me,
Speaker 2: and I was like being funny and posting about it
Speaker 2: with him like next to me or me is saying,
Speaker 2: am I going to post this? This is so cute this video?
Speaker 2: And someone commented saying, this, this feels you see manic
Speaker 2: because this feels too much too soon. And I made
Speaker 2: a video saying, well, I've known him for two years,
Speaker 2: it's not it's actually the slowest relationship you've ever had.
Speaker 2: I've been dating like basically for six months now. Since
Speaker 2: getting more closer friends for two years before them. So
Speaker 2: I'm not sure how you think that you know that
Speaker 2: it's too soon because from your perspective, yes, two weeks, yes,
Speaker 2: but I haven't met him two weeks ago. There's videos
Speaker 2: of us two years ago, met interviewing him when I
Speaker 2: met him. So yeah, it's like people not only want
Speaker 2: more from you, but they also think they know everything,
Speaker 2: if that makes sense. They they it's this contradictory feeling
Speaker 2: of we know everything about your life, but also what
Speaker 2: are you hiding? And I'm not actively hiding anything. It's
Speaker 2: just I don't have a go pro on my head.
Speaker 1: You're not. Actually, yeah, every moment in chronological exactly.
Speaker 2: So yeah, it's it's it's but I'm being much better
Speaker 2: at it. I'm much better with boundaries and my therapists.
Speaker 2: And I think I may have said this to you
Speaker 2: last time. I can't remember, but I think it was
Speaker 2: to you, but maybe even off Mike. But I have
Speaker 2: to process things before I speak about them publicly. I
Speaker 2: have to go through my therapist too, Yes, have it.
Speaker 2: I'm real understanding of how I feel about things that
Speaker 2: I want to announce or speak about or which is
Speaker 2: so important.
Speaker 1: Yeah, have you become better at that skill just as
Speaker 1: a person, not even necessarily as a public figure, because
Speaker 1: I think it's something that a lot of us struggle with,
Speaker 1: that impulse and especially if you are neurodivergent. I have ADHD.
Speaker 1: You have ADHD. That also is something where we know,
Speaker 1: even if you don't necessarily have the impulsivity part of
Speaker 1: the diagnosis that stop think about it is something that
Speaker 1: a lot of people with ADHD have to second guess.
Speaker 1: Has that helped you having to have that professional discipline
Speaker 1: to sit on things a bit in your just personal
Speaker 1: life for you be the person.
Speaker 2: I wish should be going, oh shit, Probably probably should have,
Speaker 2: shouldn't it? But no, I don't think so. I think
Speaker 2: the issue was as well that like I just yap
Speaker 2: all day every day. I'm sure you're similar. I mean,
Speaker 2: that's why we have these jobs.
Speaker 1: That's why these podcasts will run for three hours and
Speaker 1: hopefully yeah, I'll let it down.
Speaker 2: Sorry, And all these female podcast hosts in the country
Speaker 2: all have ADHD. It's not because we're faking, it's because
Speaker 2: these are the professions were drawn to. Are we yap
Speaker 2: and yap and yap to say? But everything we can
Speaker 2: talk to anyone so I think that it actually hasn't,
Speaker 2: although maybe I should go on therapy about that, because
Speaker 2: I think they're definitely my my friendship circles I have
Speaker 2: a I won't say they're quite small, I guess, but
Speaker 2: I don't all my friends. I would say my best
Speaker 2: friend friends. That makes sense, friends from ten years ago,
Speaker 2: friends where I see all the time. So me over
Speaker 2: speaking about things isn't really an issue because I've known
Speaker 2: them for so long and I know them so well so
Speaker 2: and I don't really go out much to talk to
Speaker 2: strangers so like because I'm too anxious. So yeah, I always.
Speaker 1: Hate when somebody asks the question of you, or if
Speaker 1: I ask a question and it's more like a curiosity
Speaker 1: thing or has that changed you? Or do you think
Speaker 1: about that? And then it sounds or you feel like,
Speaker 1: oh I don't do that, and then you feel like
Speaker 1: not not defending, but oh so there was certainly no
Speaker 1: judgment at all.
Speaker 2: Just curiosity. That's a good point, because I really do
Speaker 2: think that. I mean, maybe I have not realized it,
Speaker 2: but I honestly in the past, speaking of this burnout post,
Speaker 2: since quitting radio, I've made a conscious effort to do
Speaker 2: less in general, and I was also in a quite
Speaker 2: horrific relationship last year, so that made me speak about
Speaker 2: things less in a bad way, not in a oh,
Speaker 2: I'm going to keep this to myself. It was I'm
Speaker 2: ashamed of this relationship. So I think that that's I
Speaker 2: feel like I've been in a bubble since the last
Speaker 2: time we spoke, really and not done as much work,
Speaker 2: not seen as many people, and just been getting through
Speaker 2: life until today.
Speaker 1: Well, you mentioned Adam and this of course, as you say,
Speaker 1: Peking Duck front man Adam Hyde. I don't remember if
Speaker 1: the soft launch or the hard launch came first, but
Speaker 1: it made quite the splash on social semisoflach tell me.
Speaker 1: Last year when we spoke, as you say, there was
Speaker 1: obviously you were in a different chapter of your life
Speaker 1: and things obviously were not going so well on a
Speaker 1: multitude of fronts, but including on the relationship front. And
Speaker 1: you said that you weren't necessarily keen on dating publicly. Again,
Speaker 1: I don't think I've got the capacity to be with
Speaker 1: someone publicly if they're in this industry. It causes so much. Again,
Speaker 1: there's no judgment in me speaking your words back to you.
Speaker 1: Obviously something has changed.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that previously, the relationships that I've had,
Speaker 2: I've been nervous to share because even if they're casual
Speaker 2: flings or whatever, if these people in the public eye,
Speaker 2: even though we're friends, I go, I don't want I
Speaker 2: guess I'm avoiding finding out something shady about someone, or
Speaker 2: I don't want people's opinion about it because I feel
Speaker 2: like the relationship can't handle it. And being with Conrad
Speaker 2: and then breaking up with Conrad a few years ago,
Speaker 2: I just didn't like the way that it was handled
Speaker 2: in the media, and it was, Yeah, there were a
Speaker 2: few weird things that happened there. So I guess with
Speaker 2: Adam as well, it's different because I do really trust
Speaker 2: the strength of relationship. But also we've been friends for
Speaker 2: two years, so us hanging out isn't some big new thing.
Speaker 2: It's like we've been paying out publicly for years. So
Speaker 2: we were kind of like, well, it's just another photo
Speaker 2: of us. We're kissing this time instead of being at
Speaker 2: his gig or me interviewing him, or him doing a
Speaker 2: favorite for me, or him coming to I came to
Speaker 2: my live show. You know. It was in the audience
Speaker 2: of my live show a year before we got together,
Speaker 2: when I still believed he didn't like me, which is
Speaker 2: very funny. But yeah, so I think it's different because
Speaker 2: our relationship is so good. I already know him, and
Speaker 2: everyone already knows we know each other, so it isn't
Speaker 2: like some other people that I have had flings with.
Speaker 2: People would be like, how do you even how is
Speaker 2: that even connected? Whereas with Adam we've been friends. And
Speaker 2: I also was gonna sound a bit I know wanky,
Speaker 2: but I just he's had a bigger career than me,
Speaker 2: so I don't think he's using me for anything. You know,
Speaker 2: he's very successful in his own right, is an amazing musician,
Speaker 2: and it's an amazing person, so I don't. Yeah, I
Speaker 2: admire him more than anything, you know, like I think
Speaker 2: I'm getting I'm cool for being with him rather the
Speaker 2: way around.
Speaker 1: Well, it's great because you mentioned earlier how he's wild
Speaker 1: to me. People feel that they can comment on someone
Speaker 1: else's relationship that they don't even know, And as you say,
Speaker 1: you've had people pontificating about too much, too soon and
Speaker 1: all of this like nobody's business. But there's also been
Speaker 1: lots of lovely feedback. But on that note, some social
Speaker 1: medias have said that his role as a professional musician
Speaker 1: has been diminished by being referred to as your partner.
Speaker 1: Now I've never met Adam Hyde, but I loved him
Speaker 1: for saying this. His rebuttal was to people in the comments,
Speaker 1: thank you for the concern, but I'll happily be labeled
Speaker 1: Abby Chatfield's boyfriend any day. Love that. So to your point,
Speaker 1: there's obviously none of that unease that I think everyone
Speaker 1: in the public eye, certainly at that level of fame,
Speaker 1: and to be honest, you really are one of the
Speaker 1: most breakout stars of the last ten years. You are
Speaker 1: one of the most well known women in the country.
Speaker 2: Anxiety, So as far as I'm good to my careers over.
Speaker 2: In my head, I had that doom every month, so
Speaker 2: you know, yeah, yeah, every month. I think it's always
Speaker 2: with my period. I go, right, yea, my life of
Speaker 2: my career is over. But sorry's interrupting part of the night.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, it definitely is not over. I can tell
Speaker 1: you that if you think that's just a little hormonal fluctuation,
Speaker 1: but that's right. That level of success or fame, it
Speaker 1: can bring with it that a level of ourn ease.
Speaker 1: Any high level success I think can Well, what is
Speaker 1: this person, not just in a romantic relationship, but you
Speaker 1: do start to worry that things I have a transactional
Speaker 1: component to totally.
Speaker 2: I think even not pupaic eye. You wonder why someone's
Speaker 2: with you, and people say people are using you for
Speaker 2: whatever whatever reason. But the great thing is about Adam
Speaker 2: and I that what you always kind of laugh about
Speaker 2: your oh fuck, like we have money, we both have careers,
Speaker 2: like we don't have to worry about that at all,
Speaker 2: which is wonderful. But I do think the response to
Speaker 2: being called Abby Chapuld's boyfriend is so funny because it's
Speaker 2: men are finally seeing how women are spoken about constantly
Speaker 2: in the media and they're outraged that young women who
Speaker 2: are my core demo would call Adam like I'd be
Speaker 2: called Adam's girlfriend to Picking Duck fans and we laugh
Speaker 2: at our demos are like completely separate circles. We think, so,
Speaker 2: maybe some crossover, but I think eighty m Picking Duck
Speaker 2: fans aren't really listening to a feminist podcast in general.
Speaker 2: There might be some crossover, but we're in different worlds
Speaker 2: in Australia, I think, so, yeah, it's funny them getting
Speaker 2: so upset. Yet I'm sure those same men will call
Speaker 2: women wags very freelance and and so and so complete accessory.
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly plus one.
Speaker 2: Exactly so I think, And that's why everyone in my
Speaker 2: comments is now calling him Abby Chatfeld's boyfriend, and because
Speaker 2: they all get it. But yeah, in terms of transactional relationships,
Speaker 2: it's really nice to know that he's not. Oh no,
Speaker 2: it just was really easy. Honestly, Sarah. It's just like
Speaker 2: we've been friends with so long and there's just no
Speaker 2: hang ups and everything is just so in sync. Like
Speaker 2: we recently spoke about moving in together and both of
Speaker 2: us were like, we're seventy percent yes, thirty percent No,
Speaker 2: these are out concerns about it, these why we want
Speaker 2: to do it, and we just consistently at every step
Speaker 2: have been so aligned. So it doesn't feel like it's
Speaker 2: fake or transactional. It just feels nice and silly and
Speaker 2: like a fun relationship, which I don't feel that I've
Speaker 2: really had ever.
Speaker 1: Does that then bring a pressure with it? Obviously again
Speaker 1: a little bit like what we're saying, any kind of
Speaker 1: success then has that expectation pressure becomes higher knowing that
Speaker 1: so many people then have become invested in the relationship
Speaker 1: how do you navigate that in terms of what people's
Speaker 1: expectations would be, And you've got to make decisions for yourself,
Speaker 1: and so does he.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I guess the thing is with Adam.
Speaker 2: I think because I've known him for so long. With
Speaker 2: every other relationship, I've been really scared about pressure. But
Speaker 2: I've known him for so long and we've had such
Speaker 2: a strange journey to get together, so I think we're
Speaker 2: just sort of able to brush it off. Although there
Speaker 2: have been a lot of comments that I got upset
Speaker 2: about this morning that were saying, you know, oh, I
Speaker 2: hope this goes well, but I'm sure we'll end in tears.
Speaker 2: I can see the manic episode after the breakup coming now.
Speaker 2: And I told Adam he was like, we're sitting in
Speaker 2: a fucking dog park. He's like, it's fine to be
Speaker 2: upset about that, but just look around. We're a dog
Speaker 2: park with the dogs sitting in the sun. We had
Speaker 2: a great night last night. I love you. You love me, Like,
Speaker 2: if you break up, okay, but I'm not dumping you.
Speaker 2: So just have a breath. And who gives a fuck
Speaker 2: about who? Someone random person from you know Orange comments
Speaker 2: about like you know, or like, you know about our relationship.
Speaker 2: So I think ordinarily, I'm sure there will be moments
Speaker 2: where you feel that p but right now we're just
Speaker 2: having so much fun and we've already navigated a lot
Speaker 2: over the past, you know, a couple of years and
Speaker 2: on each other, so I think, yeah, it should be
Speaker 2: I'm very optimistic, which I never am. I'm never optimistic.
Speaker 2: Usually I'm like, no relationship questions about my current partner
Speaker 2: because I'm embarrassed. But now I'm like, I'll be fine
Speaker 2: and if I'm not whatever, you know that is.
Speaker 1: That is the attitude in life with everything, isn't it
Speaker 1: I'll be fine but whatever. Yeah, I just wanted to
Speaker 1: ask a question. It was so lovely. I think when
Speaker 1: you know someone for a long time and then if
Speaker 1: it develops into something romantic, then there's those moments. So
Speaker 1: you mentioned earlier, oh, like he didn't think I liked him,
Speaker 1: or I didn't think that he liked me. Have you
Speaker 1: done that thing where you're then breaking down moments from
Speaker 1: the last couple of years and you find out what
Speaker 1: the other person was thinking.
Speaker 2: Yes, And it's actually, I mean, it's more me being
Speaker 2: convinced that he could not stand me. But it's just
Speaker 2: it's very funny in hindsight. For example, Peking Ducks like
Speaker 2: a version they did Fall Your Feet by Credit House,
Speaker 2: And the first date that Adam and I had, I
Speaker 2: was singing Credit House at him until five in the morning,
Speaker 2: very adhd of me, and he loved it, and so
Speaker 2: that was kind of inspired by me. And at the
Speaker 2: time I was like, oh no, like he disliked the song.
Speaker 2: And then even you know, he's invited me over the
Speaker 2: last New Years, like three weeks before we had started
Speaker 2: kind of seeing each other properly, he asked me to
Speaker 2: go to balley with him, and I thought it was
Speaker 2: to feel sorry for me. I was like, he must
Speaker 2: be doing out of sympathy. I went to his gig
Speaker 2: once and then he was like, come to the after
Speaker 2: party with me, and I was like, no, I won't
Speaker 2: get in the car with you because you don't want
Speaker 2: to be around me in my head. And I was like,
Speaker 2: oh no. Then I'm getting the car and we're going
Speaker 2: through all these moments together and he's very secure and
Speaker 2: very not like me, Like he was like, I just
Speaker 2: saw you a bit of an ice queen, and I
Speaker 2: thought you were kind kind of like doing a bit
Speaker 2: of a game, like I thought you were doing a
Speaker 2: little because publicly, I guess the perception of me is
Speaker 2: that I'm some like man eater and it's just not
Speaker 2: the case at all. So he said, oh, I knew
Speaker 2: you weren't trying to be awful, And I didn't mind
Speaker 2: that we didn't sleep together for the first you know,
Speaker 2: two years of flirting and dates or whatever. But I
Speaker 2: just wondered, like, are you doing this as like a joke,
Speaker 2: Like are you like you know what's happening here? And
Speaker 2: last night he put together a dog crate for my
Speaker 2: dog with me, and he was laughing because last year
Speaker 2: he came to my house and moved a like two
Speaker 2: hundred kilo coffee table for me, and we had a
Speaker 2: date and it was great, went home, made out, and
Speaker 2: then he moved his coffee table for me, and then
Speaker 2: I was like, okay, bye, get out of the house.
Speaker 2: And he was like, I actually thought that you were
Speaker 2: like you were playing some sick and twisted game with me,
Speaker 2: Like he wasn't insecure about it, but he was like,
Speaker 2: as it cool that we didn't have sex. I don't mind,
Speaker 2: but I don't know what the deal was because you
Speaker 2: were making me do all this physical labor around your.
Speaker 1: And that screened coffee tables.
Speaker 2: And then screaming crowdited house at me, and then savage Garden,
Speaker 2: and then we got on a date. It would last
Speaker 2: twelve hours and we had the best day of my
Speaker 2: life every time, and then you wouldn't talk to me
Speaker 2: for a week afterward. It was like I'd asked you.
Speaker 2: I'd ask you to hang out the next day, and
Speaker 2: you'd always say yes during the night and then know
Speaker 2: the next day. And it's funny because I was so
Speaker 2: insecure that he wouldn't like me, because I liked him
Speaker 2: so much the whole time that I would self sabotage
Speaker 2: and not go to these things and not hang out
Speaker 2: with him. And if I saw him at a gig,
Speaker 2: or if I went to his gig, I would leave
Speaker 2: after without saying anything to him. Not because I didn't
Speaker 2: like him, but because I liked him so much that
Speaker 2: I thought, you know, even like him coming to my
Speaker 2: live show, and he was mentioned in my live show
Speaker 2: and he was fine with it. I don't know how
Speaker 2: I didn't see the sign. So I'm like, in a hindsight,
Speaker 2: it's insane.
Speaker 1: I love that side, though, don't you think one you
Speaker 1: can unpackle those things and clear up. Yeah, moments. It's
Speaker 1: like a really nice part of a relationship if you've
Speaker 1: known someone for a long time.
Speaker 2: I think, yeah, it's been really beautiful and really funny.
Speaker 2: And he keeps calling me the ice Queen in a
Speaker 2: joking way because I'm obviously not that with him, but
Speaker 2: he's like, oh, fucking ice queens, shit again, or like,
Speaker 2: who has been to hang out here? Like a bet?
Speaker 2: Your cancel even now? Is it about? You're cancel out before?
Speaker 2: And I go, shut the fuck. Oh. So it's it's
Speaker 2: been really fun, it's really cute.
Speaker 1: Coming up, what we can expect from the new season
Speaker 1: of F Boy Island, and Abby's thoughts on the future
Speaker 1: of reality TV. All right, let's talk about f Boy
Speaker 1: Island now. When it launched last year, became Binge's biggest
Speaker 1: reality premiere to date, and it got nominated for twenty
Speaker 1: twenty four Best Reality Program at the Actor Awards.
Speaker 2: It's not bad. Didn't win, know, didn't win?
Speaker 1: That's all right, That's that's why I said it.
Speaker 2: Was nominated. It's swiftly past that one. The nomination is amazing.
Speaker 1: Other actors you are at the helm for a season
Speaker 1: to what can we expect that's a little bit different
Speaker 1: or is it the same same? What are the biggest
Speaker 1: shifts in energy between season one and two?
Speaker 2: Well, I think that a huge I mean it's always
Speaker 2: looked amazing. But I was telling you before we started
Speaker 2: this conversation that the opening scene of episode one, it's
Speaker 2: such high quality, it's like Game of Thrones, and the
Speaker 2: way that's been filmed and shot and edited is just
Speaker 2: the next level. And it was already incredible in season one.
Speaker 2: Those producers are some of the best in the country.
Speaker 2: The camera, the camera guys, hair, everyone is some of
Speaker 2: the best crew in the country in my opinion. I
Speaker 2: love them so dearly and they do amazing work as well,
Speaker 2: so it looks insane, but also the women, the leads
Speaker 2: are they were incredible last year, the gorgeous girls, and
Speaker 2: two of them are still together.
Speaker 1: I know it's not very high like ratio success, right.
Speaker 2: We were laughing about it the other day with the
Speaker 2: producers going we accidentally did like not that we don't
Speaker 2: want them to find love, but.
Speaker 1: Yourself that test necessarily, Yeah, it's one.
Speaker 2: Of the like if you do numbers and I and
Speaker 2: if you know two of these couples stay together. It's
Speaker 2: doing better than like Bachelor, I'm once a wife maths
Speaker 2: the ratio is crazy, so but no, the leading ladies
Speaker 2: are so beyond incredible. I really loved them all a lot.
Speaker 2: They are really different to the women last year. I
Speaker 2: think as well, they have the advantage of understanding the
Speaker 2: show this year and being able to call things out
Speaker 2: and see more red flags. And they're a bit stronger,
Speaker 2: but also very silly, like they're very silly girls, and
Speaker 2: they kind of were just there obviously with the chance
Speaker 2: to find love. But again, I think seeing last season,
Speaker 2: they were sort of like, so, yeah, this goes to
Speaker 2: be funny, and we all had a really good rapport
Speaker 2: and I really enjoyed enjoyed filming with them. So they're incredible.
Speaker 2: Last finale I was almost convulsing with excitement because of
Speaker 2: how wild it was, and this finale was just a reference.
Speaker 2: I mean, it takes the finale. I think it took
Speaker 2: like two hours, which is a long time for maybe
Speaker 2: twelve minutes of on screen time, and usually it does
Speaker 2: take a longer time than on screen obviously, but it
Speaker 2: was a long record because of all the drama that
Speaker 2: kept happening, unplanned drama that I ended up being like
Speaker 2: sit down, everyone like sit down, because it was just
Speaker 2: like continue. It was never en. I was like does
Speaker 2: anyone else have anything to say? Because it was just
Speaker 2: never ending And the storylines are wonderful. The guys were
Speaker 2: a bit sillier this year, again, not because the guys
Speaker 2: last year or the girls last year were not silly,
Speaker 2: but they get it this year, and I'm really excited
Speaker 2: for everyone to see it because I just think it's
Speaker 2: I think it's better than season one in my opinion.
Speaker 2: It's crazy and we have some return figures. Oh yes,
Speaker 2: as a tease, Yeah.
Speaker 1: How was experience for you? Then? Because hosting well, you've
Speaker 1: obviously had worked on TV before, obviously came through on
Speaker 1: the Bachelor, but you had been one of the judges
Speaker 1: on Mass Singer, but hosting a show in your own right,
Speaker 1: and not just that, but launching your show. Like I
Speaker 1: said at the start, it does bring with it a
Speaker 1: big pressure. I don't think I banged on about that
Speaker 1: too much last year because that would have been really helpful,
Speaker 1: wouldn't it.
Speaker 2: You're like, there's a lot on your shoulders right now, exactly?
Speaker 1: Yay? Go And then everyone's trying well.
Speaker 2: Thank thanks, But.
Speaker 1: As I just said, hugely successful first season. Ultimate Accolade,
Speaker 1: of course is always getting the green light, isn't it.
Speaker 1: You know, people aren't gaslighting you when they actually back
Speaker 1: it in and clearly very high production values because as
Speaker 1: he said, it looks amazing, so they're really talking with
Speaker 1: their money, which is very helpful and a really positive sign.
Speaker 1: So for you, did you also have that sense of
Speaker 1: maybe having a bit more fun and feeling a bit
Speaker 1: more relaxed. Yeah.
Speaker 2: I was definitely way more relaxed this season. We knew
Speaker 2: what we were doing. I already knew the producers from
Speaker 2: Bachelor because it's the same crew essentially that was working
Speaker 2: with me on Bachelor, so I already knew them, but
Speaker 2: we knew each of them more in this context. I
Speaker 2: felt like there was more I don't say control, but
Speaker 2: we were way more collaborative, I guess this season because
Speaker 2: all of us understood the format and I understood what
Speaker 2: my role was and I could say things to the
Speaker 2: girls like last season this and I think then the
Speaker 2: you know, the crew more relaxed, the cast more relaxed.
Speaker 2: Everyone was just literally just like coming to work, laughing,
Speaker 2: filming and then laughing afterwards. It was incredible. But I
Speaker 2: do feel less pressure for sure. But yeah, I think
Speaker 2: it's interesting the perception of me being at the helm
Speaker 2: of this show. People seem to think that I'm casting it,
Speaker 2: producing it. I wish it was my former I've been
Speaker 2: making a lot more money, let me tell you that.
Speaker 2: But yeah, there is a lot of pressure on me
Speaker 2: being a public figure for other things, and then also
Speaker 2: with social media the amount of I guess conversation that
Speaker 2: I had with my followers often I'm not this kind
Speaker 2: of distant figure. Puts a lot of pressure on me
Speaker 2: for the show to be not only entertaining and good,
Speaker 2: but also aligned morally with me. But the producers themselves
Speaker 2: align with me, so I have no worries about that.
Speaker 2: But it's a lot of pressure in general as well
Speaker 2: as making it sound fun and exciting but also morally aligned.
Speaker 2: But also it's called Foy Island. Then it's like a
Speaker 2: sill the reality show, and then it's a satire. Then
Speaker 2: it's like a lot to deal with. But I'm very excited,
Speaker 2: and yeah, let's pressure for sure. This year much more chilled.
Speaker 1: Because there is that gender politics and those values that
Speaker 1: are in alignment with your values and your public brand
Speaker 1: as well. I had the joy privilege of hosting the
Speaker 1: F Boy Island Australia launch last year and interviewed you
Speaker 1: on stage, and we talked a lot about that because,
Speaker 1: as I say, May last year, people were still a
Speaker 1: bit like F boy, Like what what's an F boy? Bosh?
Speaker 1: You know this is not your mum and dad's reality TV. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and it was very much about the women having agency
Speaker 1: and as I say, things that you really were the
Speaker 1: natural pick for. And it was a bit of a
Speaker 1: changing of the guard, I would say on the Australian
Speaker 1: reality TV landscape and even people that you and I
Speaker 1: both love, like Osha for instance. But The Bachelor has
Speaker 1: now been confirmed that it won't be coming back. Was
Speaker 1: that a bit a sweet moment for you?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I was really sad because obviously I know Osha
Speaker 2: personally working with him on The Master Singer and from Bachelor,
Speaker 2: and and I know that he'll get a job any
Speaker 2: any moment. It's Ochigensburg. I mean, you know, what can
Speaker 2: we expect? But it is sad to see I guess
Speaker 2: a cornerstone of Australian television that I was on that
Speaker 2: I've sown memories on good and bad, a lot of bad,
Speaker 2: but I'm very connected to I think the biggest thing
Speaker 2: actually is that the crew and everyone involved in the
Speaker 2: show is out of work. I mean, the Australian television
Speaker 2: landscape is one thing in terms of, oh, this show
Speaker 2: isn't entertaining anymore, isn't isn't happening anymore? Or you know,
Speaker 2: oh Mars Singer isn't back, what are the kids going
Speaker 2: to watch? I'm sad about that, and obviously I'm sad
Speaker 2: it selfishly not having a job, a fun job that
Speaker 2: I love, like Mars Singer is the most fun ever.
Speaker 2: But the bigger thing that a lot of us are
Speaker 2: speaking about is Australian TV really not having consistent work
Speaker 2: for a lot of people who've had consistent work for
Speaker 2: years and year. I mean, you know, reality TV shows
Speaker 2: used to be filmed in months and now it's in
Speaker 2: a matter of weeks. And when you think about you
Speaker 2: know people who have been for example, if you're a
Speaker 2: camera person on that show, you've gone for having a
Speaker 2: year full with three or four shows to needing ten
Speaker 2: fifteen shows. So a bigger concern is more the amount
Speaker 2: of shows getting canceled and therefore crew who are amazing
Speaker 2: at their jobs losing work because of this kind of
Speaker 2: this flattening of the Australian TV industry. And I don't
Speaker 2: know where it's going to go from here because it
Speaker 2: seems only getting smaller and smaller.
Speaker 1: Such a good point and every headline that we see, oh,
Speaker 1: this show's not coming back or so and so out
Speaker 1: of work, What people seeing those headlines don't realize is
Speaker 1: that there's dozens, often hundreds of crew members now out
Speaker 1: of work. And as you say, if that work is
Speaker 1: going away, where is their next paycheck?
Speaker 2: Totally from isn't even just I think people think that
Speaker 2: TV is just camera guys, sound guys, producers and crew.
Speaker 2: It's there's so many people. There's the people in the
Speaker 2: offices that are doing all the admin. There's the receptionist
Speaker 2: I Warner Brothers for example, but there's also the runners.
Speaker 2: There's the there's the minders, there's the you know, the
Speaker 2: hair and makeup, there's styling, there's directors. There's even the
Speaker 2: venues that we rent out. They aren't getting the money
Speaker 2: like there's it's a huge economic injectionity economy hugely and
Speaker 2: for that to all go Away is really concerning, particularly
Speaker 2: in terms of it is stifling the Australian television industry
Speaker 2: because all those runners that would have gotten an inn
Speaker 2: like most people on sets started as runners, most producers,
Speaker 2: most camera guys, most sound like, most sound like they're
Speaker 2: all starting off as an entry point of being a runner.
Speaker 2: And when they have to cut down on runners and
Speaker 2: not use runners because there isn't money in Australian TV
Speaker 2: as much as it was obviously, or shows getting canceled,
Speaker 2: then we lose out on finding incredible crew that will
Speaker 2: become seenior one day, and it kind of disincentivizes people
Speaker 2: from even wanting to, you know, learn how to do
Speaker 2: audio or to be a producer, because how would you
Speaker 2: even get in if there's no productions happening. So from that,
Speaker 2: I really worry about how we're going to save Australian
Speaker 2: TV in general, particularly reality TV. Selfishly because I love
Speaker 2: reality TV and I think Australia has some absolute kirks
Speaker 2: that should be on reality TV and make great television.
Speaker 2: But it, yeah, it concerns me in terms of if
Speaker 2: we're not allowing them in the industry now, not by
Speaker 2: anyone's fault, just the economy. Then we're going to stifle
Speaker 2: potentially amazing creatives in the future that will do amazing
Speaker 2: work that will put Australian television on the map and
Speaker 2: continue to keep it on the map and interest international viewers.
Speaker 2: And it really yeah, it's it makes me, I fact,
Speaker 2: I want to cry. It makes me really anxious. So
Speaker 2: they really care about Australian music and Australian television because
Speaker 2: we have such talent here, and then when that money
Speaker 2: goes away, all those shows are canceled. My issue isn't
Speaker 2: that I'm out of a job. I'm very fortunate with
Speaker 2: the work that I have and I think it's funny,
Speaker 2: Like you said, people kind of almost troll me, going haha,
Speaker 2: you have no job. I'm like, that's not funny. It's
Speaker 2: to me. You can laugh at me. But for crew
Speaker 2: seeing that who schedule their lives around these TV shows
Speaker 2: may be happening not happening, it's really that trumental, not
Speaker 2: only to them as people, but also the industry as
Speaker 2: a whole. And I think it's gonna We're gonna see
Speaker 2: a huge shift in the next few years in terms
Speaker 2: of where Australian TV will be. But they're still amazing
Speaker 2: things being made. It's just hard when they're giving less budget,
Speaker 2: less time and less people like like I say, Foy Island,
Speaker 2: the producers. The fact they can make such an amazing show,
Speaker 2: the entire an amazing show out of no time to
Speaker 2: film it is beyond So yeah, that's my little it's
Speaker 2: me or my little, my little rounded to talk about
Speaker 2: Australian TV that I have every day with a different
Speaker 2: person that will listen.
Speaker 1: No, it's great because I think I've heard a lot
Speaker 1: of actors talk about it in terms of the impact
Speaker 1: when a show gets acted or is discontinued or not
Speaker 1: commissioned for another season. That it's often the actors people
Speaker 1: will talk about. If you look at something like Neighbors,
Speaker 1: when that was acted, everyone will be talking about the
Speaker 1: high profile people that are starring in it. But what
Speaker 1: a lot of the actors would point out is all
Speaker 1: of those people who had built their lives and their
Speaker 1: livelihoods behind the scenes. And then, as you've discussed Abby,
Speaker 1: all those skills that are cultivated and if that all
Speaker 1: goes away, what happens Because.
Speaker 2: You've got to learn on the job for these things.
Speaker 2: You can't you can go to UNI. Obviously, and they're
Speaker 2: very valuable as degrees. But a lot of the things,
Speaker 2: particularly in reality of what I see reality TV, it's
Speaker 2: hard to understand until you work on it, and that's
Speaker 2: how people learn, and it's reality TV is about people
Speaker 2: and understanding people. So how can you learn in a
Speaker 2: degree how to produce reality Well, you can learn the basics,
Speaker 2: but you can't until you're on set. And if everyone
Speaker 2: junior can't get jobs anymore, where does that leave potential
Speaker 2: talent in the future to create great reality TV or
Speaker 2: documentaries or dramas or anything that's Australian Australian made. So yeah,
Speaker 2: it's also people in terms of the economy and the
Speaker 2: state of TV. Things are being green lit really late
Speaker 2: as well. So not Foy Island because but like some
Speaker 2: things I've heard up, things getting green lit and then
Speaker 2: suddenly going you know, a couple of months later from
Speaker 2: when people know that it's happening, and people are giving
Speaker 2: up other jobs to potentially get another job that doesn't
Speaker 2: get green up, that that gets canceled because it's maybe happening,
Speaker 2: and then it's people are scrambling for jobs and no
Speaker 2: one has any work, and then everyone quits and you know,
Speaker 2: stops pursuing their dream of working in television because there's
Speaker 2: not only lack of work, there's also completely unstable work.
Speaker 2: People get offer jobs that are amazing and they turn
Speaker 2: them down because they want to do Folan for example,
Speaker 2: because they love it and we get green lit yay.
Speaker 2: But if it wasn't green lip, they've turned something down
Speaker 2: for that. Makeup artists even in terms of if they
Speaker 2: want to book weddings. It's like it's a very hard
Speaker 2: thing to navigate when you're giving up your life, like
Speaker 2: when we're on set. I'm sure actors have said this
Speaker 2: as well. When you're on set, you give up your
Speaker 2: life for months at a time. You're not just like
Speaker 2: popping in and popping out and you can't work any
Speaker 2: other jobs, and it just yeah, it's really concerning and
Speaker 2: I really hope that Australians engage more in Australian made TV.
Speaker 2: I saw a pedestrian article recently that said, what's happen
Speaker 2: into Australian TV? You know these three show has been
Speaker 2: canceled like Mark Singer, Bachelor, and I think something else
Speaker 2: was canceled. I don't know it was something all in
Speaker 2: one day, it all came out I wanted to comment
Speaker 2: being like duh, like none of you, like you're not
Speaker 2: watching free to ATV, which is fine, obviously it's up
Speaker 2: to bit. I would really love people to give new
Speaker 2: reality formats a chance. I guess, like The Hunted, that
Speaker 2: was an amazing show. I don't think it's come back.
Speaker 2: There are amazing shows being made, and our go to
Speaker 2: is to go to Netflix and the front page of Netflix.
Speaker 2: And I'm guilty of it as well. I mean, I'm
Speaker 2: currently in the middle nin day fiance on Binge. But yeah,
Speaker 2: I think there needs to be conversation around a change
Speaker 2: in how we what media we ingest. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, there's a responsibility on all of us as consumers,
Speaker 1: and we're all guilty of it, as you say, But
Speaker 1: if we complain when something isn't there, we have to
Speaker 1: see it. It's the same with a film even like, yes,
Speaker 1: you know, if a film is directed by a female director,
Speaker 1: which is still unusually Hollywood statistically, I was like, just
Speaker 1: go out and see it. I'm not saying you have
Speaker 1: to sit through a terrible four hour ardhouse film that
Speaker 1: should never have been made just because it's a female
Speaker 1: director before people come for me. But you've got to
Speaker 1: put your support behind things, because, as you said, the
Speaker 1: ultimate accolade for f Boy Island season one is that
Speaker 1: it comes back for season two. Yes, so we've got
Speaker 1: to vote with our feet, with our money, with our eyebowls,
Speaker 1: bombs on seats, whatever it takes.
Speaker 2: And even music, even all the festivals being canceled. It's
Speaker 2: I mean, it's hard to find new music and it
Speaker 2: is hard to find new TV as well because there's
Speaker 2: so much out there. But if anyone listening wants to
Speaker 2: know what I would do to find new TVs, like
Speaker 2: go through the actinoms and see how like go through
Speaker 2: actinoms and look through and see who's nominated, and like
Speaker 2: when I go to those ceremonies, the best thing that
Speaker 2: I get from it is be like, oh I should
Speaker 2: watch that, and writing in my notes, going that looks amazing.
Speaker 2: Why haven't I heard of that? It's incredible. So with
Speaker 2: music as well, people aren't buying tickets to festivals because
Speaker 2: it's local it's mainly local acts because they don't know
Speaker 2: the local acts. But it's kind of like self filling
Speaker 2: prophecy in this cycle of we don't know the acts,
Speaker 2: we won't go, we won't go because we don't know
Speaker 2: the acts, and the acts aren't getting shown because it's Yeah,
Speaker 2: I think it. I would love to see Australians, including
Speaker 2: myself and you, and like I'm consumer lo of American
Speaker 2: media to try and focus on homegrown stuff if it
Speaker 2: tickles their fancy, not just because it's Aussie, but I
Speaker 2: think there's so much amazing stuff out there, music, TV, production, films, dramas, everything,
Speaker 2: it's great.
Speaker 1: After the break, Abby and I go deep on speaking
Speaker 1: up about political issues on social media and whether it's
Speaker 1: fair to call people out for staying silent. I want
Speaker 1: to change gears in quite a remarkable way. Now. I
Speaker 1: actually wanted to talk to you about the causes and
Speaker 1: the issues that you choose to speak out on. And
Speaker 1: when I said, we couldn't get further from gold loging nominations,
Speaker 1: award ceremonies in a privileged country like Australia, then the
Speaker 1: humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Abby, you have been very vocal
Speaker 1: about that situation in recent months. Last time you and
Speaker 1: I spoke was certainly before anything had happened in the
Speaker 1: Middle East. Again that obviously October of last year, everything
Speaker 1: flared up in the worst way imaginable in that region.
Speaker 2: But you were.
Speaker 1: Talking about how you learned to be a bit more
Speaker 1: guarded about what issues you take on. Why did you
Speaker 1: decide this was something that you really wanted to be
Speaker 1: very public with the position.
Speaker 2: Well, the genocide in Gaza is obviously horrifically sickening. It
Speaker 2: didn't really take much thought obviously at first, because when
Speaker 2: October seventh happened, I was very ignorant to what was
Speaker 2: happening in what was happening in Middle East occupation of Palestine,
Speaker 2: and my producer is a Palestinian woman, and we'd never
Speaker 2: spoken about it, and that's completely my fault for not
Speaker 2: knowing the details of what was happening. And when October
Speaker 2: seventh happened, I didn't understand what the causes were of it.
Speaker 2: But within a week or so I understood in full
Speaker 2: and I'd spoken to a few people as much as
Speaker 2: I could, not in full much as I could, And
Speaker 2: there were images coming out of Gaza and reporting him
Speaker 2: out of Gaza, and I just didn't want to be
Speaker 2: silent on something that was so horrific. And I think
Speaker 2: as time has gone on, despite being you know, I've
Speaker 2: had legal threats from groups that are anti Palestinian. I've
Speaker 2: been in newspapers being called a g Hardist. I've lost
Speaker 2: a few jobs. I have suspicions that one of the
Speaker 2: jobs that I lost, Yeah, it was because of that,
Speaker 2: a big one that I really cared about. Ah, But
Speaker 2: it doesn't really matter when there's that much her atrocity
Speaker 2: is happening in another country and we're seeing it, and
Speaker 2: every day is becoming clearer and clear and clearer and
Speaker 2: clearer clearer that it is. It really is a cut
Speaker 2: and dry issue, and there's so much civilian death and
Speaker 2: so much pain being done to Palestinians, not only in
Speaker 2: Gas of it all from the West Bank and through
Speaker 2: interview people like Basi Musuf and Antonette Latouf and speaking
Speaker 2: with my producer about what her family has endured, and
Speaker 2: she's even coptaite from my listeners and my followers. It's yeah,
Speaker 2: it becomes very clear every day that remaining silent on
Speaker 2: this is not really an option for me.
Speaker 1: What about the issue of some people, not simply for Gaza,
Speaker 1: but for any issue, who don't want.
Speaker 2: To speak out about something.
Speaker 1: Because there has been a feeling at probably being actually
Speaker 1: articulated by a lot of people globally, not just here
Speaker 1: in Australia. I think Gaza has brought it a bit
Speaker 1: to a head where silence is being complicit that everybody
Speaker 1: has to come out with the public stance. What's your
Speaker 1: view on that, Gaza or otherwise if somebody with a
Speaker 1: public profile or not necessarily even a huge profile, a
Speaker 1: private citizen chooses just not to comment on that, do
Speaker 1: you feel that that is a problem and we should
Speaker 1: call out silence.
Speaker 2: I think when it comes to the genocide in Gaza, yes,
Speaker 2: because it is a very timely issue. I recently was
Speaker 2: posting about fundraisers for families in Gaza to get them
Speaker 2: out of Gaza, and every minute that passes without that money,
Speaker 2: without that funding to get them out of Gaza, they
Speaker 2: could be murdered, they could be part of a number
Speaker 2: in a genocide. And so for Gaza, I do think
Speaker 2: people should speak about it if they have a public platform,
Speaker 2: because it's happening in front of our eyes, and we
Speaker 2: have all of the evidence and it's a very it's
Speaker 2: very clear now. If you're privately yelling to your friends
Speaker 2: about it at dinner, like it would be nice to
Speaker 2: also do it publicly. I think that's where the like
Speaker 2: where the difference is. But with genocide, I think it's
Speaker 2: a very different thing. But those who think that they're
Speaker 2: a political or want to be a political I don't.
Speaker 2: You can't really be a political living in the world.
Speaker 2: If you're affected by the rental crisis, that is a
Speaker 2: political issue. If you're affected by abortion bands, that is
Speaker 2: a political issue. If you don't want to choose either
Speaker 2: Albanezi or Peter Dutton, that's a political issue. If you
Speaker 2: care about climate change, it's politics. So every thing we
Speaker 2: do during the day is part of a political landscape.
Speaker 2: And I think that while not everyone needs to speak
Speaker 2: on every single thing, because I also don't want to
Speaker 2: encourage people that I don't agree with. I chose my
Speaker 2: words very climon stella on the Fancy Podcast. But people
Speaker 2: who I don't agree with to just post about every
Speaker 2: single thing because they want to get interaction on social
Speaker 2: media or get attention. I do think that if you
Speaker 2: care about something, it's very easy for social media to
Speaker 2: find resources to share just even to hopefully educate one
Speaker 2: other person. Because there's no way to be a political
Speaker 2: in this in this world.
Speaker 1: This is going to sound like a random go question,
Speaker 1: but have you ever seen the film Team America World Police.
Speaker 1: It came out in two thousand and four. It's from
Speaker 1: the creators of South Park, so it's animated, and it
Speaker 1: was created not long after the Iraq War when George W.
Speaker 1: Bush was President of the US and it is it
Speaker 1: was about many different things and from the creators of
Speaker 1: South Park. A lot of it is absolutely fascical. I
Speaker 1: mean there's robot sex, for instance, Like it's pretty crazy
Speaker 1: puppet sex, I should say. But a big part of
Speaker 1: that film, it's twenty years old this year, was they
Speaker 1: were really mocking and ridiculing celebrities including George Clooney, Matt Damon,
Speaker 1: Tim Robbins, a lot of big, high profile people that
Speaker 1: are still famous today and were at the time. And
Speaker 1: there were lines in the film where they were like,
Speaker 1: I read an article in the New York Times, and
Speaker 1: so now I'm going to come and tell you all
Speaker 1: about it, because I'm an actor and so I really
Speaker 1: know everything. So I really didn't like that film. I'm
Speaker 1: old enough to have been there when it came out,
Speaker 1: Like I was in fact reviewing films at the time,
Speaker 1: and I'm going to name drop you. But it is
Speaker 1: only in the context of George Clooney relevant where I
Speaker 1: interviewed him about a year later and I asked him
Speaker 1: about and he had a real good natured stick where
Speaker 1: he said, that's fine, like you just you know, I
Speaker 1: love the South Park guys. Yeah, they went after me,
Speaker 1: but you've got to, you know, take take your lumps,
Speaker 1: I think, he said to me. And we got into
Speaker 1: a really good conversation where I said to him that
Speaker 1: it's actually very conservative because what we're actually saying two
Speaker 1: actors and anyone in the public eyes, you can really
Speaker 1: only talk if you're campaigning for an oscar, if you're
Speaker 1: talking about how I got ready for this red carpet event,
Speaker 1: or something quite light and silly about my two year
Speaker 1: old did this cute thing today, And anytime we're talking
Speaker 1: about issues of substance or value, you're being mocked, and
Speaker 1: we actually really engaged on it. Twenty years on, I've
Speaker 1: been thinking a lot about that because now I feel
Speaker 1: that the cultures flipped a bit and we've gone from
Speaker 1: mocking and ridiculing and demonizing celebrities for speaking out, and
Speaker 1: now I just wonder if we're at a point where
Speaker 1: it will become the expectation, and does that then bring
Speaker 1: with it the risk of some of what I think
Speaker 1: those South Park guys I would say, unfairly, we're going
Speaker 1: after celebrities where you're not informed, but you just think
Speaker 1: I've got to say something, So I'm going to say something.
Speaker 1: So here's an article I read, and now I'm going
Speaker 1: to tell everyone what I think and what they should think.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I totally, I totally do see that happening. And
Speaker 2: I think people also with social media and the spread
Speaker 2: of misinformation, not in the right wing trump way, but
Speaker 2: genuine misinformation also AI and a real lack of media literacy.
Speaker 2: I think in with everyone around me seems to have
Speaker 2: very wobbly media literacy. Not my personal friends, but people
Speaker 2: on the on the on the net, you know, when
Speaker 2: they're surfing the net. No, but I do think that
Speaker 2: it would be it is. It is a It is
Speaker 2: a risky thing because if everyone's just sharing things they
Speaker 2: see and they go about sounds about right put on
Speaker 2: my stories, then they could be spreading this information. They
Speaker 2: could be aligning themselves with even like an account they
Speaker 2: don't actually agree with it and actually know, but they've
Speaker 2: seen some infographic that looks good and looks legitimate, and
Speaker 2: it's then sharing it. So I do see a lot
Speaker 2: of danger in that, but I think that it's up
Speaker 2: to I think it's up to individuals. But I would
Speaker 2: just love to see people aligning themselves publicly with what
Speaker 2: they do privately, because a lot of the time I
Speaker 2: know a lot of influences who a very left wing
Speaker 2: who would actually benefit from posting about things, but they
Speaker 2: don't are too scared to lose sponsors. But answer your question,
Speaker 2: I think it's a real risk. I don't know what
Speaker 2: to say to h minimize that because I think it
Speaker 2: is a real, real issue. But we also have the
Speaker 2: benefit of doing a quick little google the see of
Speaker 2: things legitimate. We have Snopes, we have the ability to
Speaker 2: fact check things, and if you read one article in full,
Speaker 2: even the ones with the bullshit headlines, you see the reality.
Speaker 2: So but I also, like I said, I don't think
Speaker 2: that anyone can be really apolitical. I don't think anyone
Speaker 2: can say, oh, I don't know where I stand an abortion,
Speaker 2: I don't know where I stand on climate change. I
Speaker 2: don't know, because I think that it makes up for
Speaker 2: a lot of our conversations. So I think, like just transparency,
Speaker 2: but it is risky with misinformation I don't know. I
Speaker 2: don't know what to stand with that.
Speaker 1: Sarah, No, it's just a I think it's just a
Speaker 1: fascinating conversation and a time. And it's, like I said,
Speaker 1: it's a bit weird that I'm bringing this al into it,
Speaker 1: But I have been thinking about it a lot over
Speaker 1: the last eight to nine months because I think, like
Speaker 1: I say, I felt really strongly that it's important that
Speaker 1: people should speak about things that they feel strongly about
Speaker 1: and they shouldn't be penalized and they shouldn't lose jobs
Speaker 1: for it. And I think there's a real risk of
Speaker 1: that becoming an expectation and that I think becomes a
Speaker 1: breeding ground for ignorance and quickly formed opinions. Because anytime
Speaker 1: we expect something from everyone, whether it's silence or you
Speaker 1: speak up, then I think if there's a one size
Speaker 1: fits all, in my mind, that's where the problems.
Speaker 2: I totally agree, and I wonder I have no idea
Speaker 2: how to even mitigate that, because I'm on the side
Speaker 2: of I'd rather more people speak up. But you're you're
Speaker 2: totally right. It does. It's a breeding ground for misinformation
Speaker 2: and people just posting what they think they're well posting
Speaker 2: things assatiate their followers, I guess, rather than posting things
Speaker 2: because they believe them, and then how do you tell
Speaker 2: the difference? And you can't, So right, that's the thing
Speaker 2: to the consumer again, to find their own information. So
Speaker 2: I don't know, maybe even if if just that it's
Speaker 2: maybe even making people look into things more, But then
Speaker 2: I fear that they don't. They won't because of like
Speaker 2: immediate literacy. It's a big cycle. The world is ending.
Speaker 1: I see only glad it came. I just like throwing
Speaker 1: all these things.
Speaker 2: It's amazing. It's a really good thing to think about.
Speaker 1: We'll have to pick it up another time, you know,
Speaker 1: at the f Boy Island season too long. I mean,
Speaker 1: what else are we going to talk about there, Abbey Collus,
Speaker 1: We're going to talk about geopolitics and you know, opinions
Speaker 1: and Abbey, it has been such a pleasure to talk
Speaker 1: to you. Thank you so much for coming in today.
Speaker 1: And you can see Abby Chatfield on f Boy Island
Speaker 1: Season two. I had the laun cheer. I don't have
Speaker 1: the t X. I'm just going to ramble on here
Speaker 1: and say lots of wonderful launches.
Speaker 2: August five.
Speaker 1: Episodes dropping weekly, Yes, there we go.
Speaker 2: I love it. Thank you so much so I always
Speaker 2: love talking to you.
Speaker 1: You can see more of Abby on f Boy Island
Speaker 1: Australia Season two, which will be streaming on Binge from
Speaker 1: August five, with episodes dropping weekly, and you can stream
Speaker 1: the first season on Binge now. If you've enjoyed this episode,
Speaker 1: then make sure you're following us because we'll be back
Speaker 1: with another exclusive guest on Something to Talk About next
Speaker 1: week